Japanese fugitive falls

A Japanese fugitive wanted by authorities for involvement in a multi-million-dollar electronic fraud scam in Tokyo was nabbed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Identified as Keiji Yuasa, 63, the suspect was arrested in Bina-ngonan, Rizal, by members of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).

Information from the office of BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that Yuasa was arrested on the strength of a warrant of deportation which he signed pursuant to a summary deportation order issued by the BI Board of Commissioners against the foreigner for being an undocumented and undesirable alien last October 6.

It was learned that Yuasa’s passport was already cancelled by the Japanese government in November last year and that he was declared undesirable by the BI for posing a risk to public safety and security.

Morente said a team of Japanese policemen will be in Manila to fetch and escort Yuasa back to Tokyo, where he will stand trial for his crimes.

Records show that a Japanese court has issued an arrest warrant against Yuasa for allegedly embezzling 400 million yen or more than US$3.8 million in an electronic scam which he committed while working for a bank in Japan. After learning of his indictment on large-scale fraud charges, he then fled to the Philippines last year to avoid arrest and prosecution for his crime.

Yuasa is now detained at the BI detention center in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, awaiting deportation. He was included in the BI blacklist to prevent him from re-entering the Philippines.